Part Three of a Four Part Series.

3. Procrastination (aka: Shooting Yourself in the Foot)

“Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” – Thomas Edison

“I’ll do it later. I work best under pressure anyway.” OK. Right there. You are about to procrastinate. And procrastination is a goal killer. Procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of low-priority, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time. Sound familiar?

Setting general goals without specifics leads to procrastination. If we are truly going to reach our goals we must move from general goal intentions (“I need to get some homework done.”) to specific intentions for action (“I am going to read one chapter and answer three questions at six o’clock.”). It is not necessary to think too far ahead or be super ambitious, just aim for some progress. Usually, once you get going a dreaded task is not as bad as we anticipated.

Have a plan ready. Your recipe will look something like: “When X, I do Y and that gets me Z.” When the time comes to take action, you cannot be still in planning mode. Tell yourself exactly when and where to take action. Then when it comes time to act, do it. Stick to your plan, because If you give yourself an ‘out’ once, you will always take it. If your overall plan needs readjustment, do not bail on your commitment mid stream! The time to make changes is at the next planning session.

The simplest and most effective solution to reaching goals is to simply get started. So what are you waiting for?

')}

Part Two of a Four Part Series.

2. Be Flexible With Your Definition of Success

“Comparisons are odious.” – Sir John Fortescue

People have a tendency to compare their success against the success of others, and they always compare up. We look at those with greater success and feel that we are lacking. Some may feel that because is it theoretically possible, they must make it to the top and be the best. Be on the lookout for perfectionism. It hides in experiences of inadequacy and ideas like “I am not as successful as I should be”. Striving to be perfect can drain the positives and good feelings out of achievement entirely. Striving to be your personal best is healthy, striving for perfection is self-sabotage.

In order to experience more success, it is essential to broaden our personal concept of what success looks like. When defining success in a situation, be self-referential, focus on your own path and be flexible and willing to consider different possibilities. We can feel more “in” our lives and engaged by being creative and envisioning different outcomes. You have your vision. Now what is your Plan B? And Plan C? Take the things that you are passionate about from one goal and apply them to somewhere else.  Having alternate visions of personal success lets us feel like we are in control.

Do not to hold onto one definition of success or become fixed on the accomplishments of others.  Focus on your own path and compete only with yourself. Every day offers an opportunity to enjoy the process and experience success.

')}

Part One of a Four Part Series.

1. Beware The Low Hanging Fruit

“We are kept from our goals not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”

Robert Brault

It can be so tempting, the path of least resistance. When working to achieve goals we sometimes reach for the closest available resources. The rush to ‘get it done’ can compromise efficiency and excellence. We often sacrifice quality and accuracy for speed and ease.

It’s easy to pick the low hanging fruit on a tree but the quality fruits are at the top. While the stuff at the bottom requires little effort to get, it is more likely to be bruised or damaged by bugs. Top quality product takes more time and effort to obtain.

If I want to cook a really good meal, I could just grab what’s already in the fridge. Or I can find a great recipe, shop for quality ingredients and arrange fresh flowers. If I want to prepare an engaging talk, I can just pull info from my notes or reach for the closest book on the shelf. Or I can research the subject, consult a variety of sources and find the most interesting and relevant material to share.

Don’t always reach for low hanging fruit. It’s the easy way out and we often regret it.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

Thomas A. Edison

')}

Successful learning depends in part on the learner having awareness, knowledge and control of their cognitive processes, so they can be used effectively.  This awareness, knowledge and control is often referred to as Metacognition.  The term literally means “thinking about thinking”, or having knowledge about cognition and control of cognitions.  Metacognition is the ability to be aware of your own learning processes, as well as knowing what works best for you. It means being able to recognize whether you are learning the information you are studying, and knowing how to improve your learning. Many students think about metacognition as their “inner coach,” their awareness and knowledge of how they learn and how they will control the process.

Awareness involves being attentive about what learning strategy you should use and how to use it. Setting goals for yourself would be a good way to be aware of the tasks you have on hand.

Knowledge involves knowing about how you learn under different conditions, for example, when you need to accomplish different types of learning tasks. Having this type of knowledge will help you understand and identify a learning strategy that would suit you best. For example, knowing when you would need to apply a different learning strategy to study vocabulary words, and another strategy to study the human body system is considered knowledge in metacognition. This knowledge includes:

Control is the ability to plan, organize and manage your learning. For example, before preparing for an upcoming test, you might first make a study schedule and set goals. Control also involves monitoring your own progress. You can do this by asking yourself questions like “Have I understood the information I am studying?” or “Am I keeping up with my study plan and goals?” To do this, you must first identify the learning strategy that works best with the information you need to learn. The control aspect usually refers to using control strategies such as:

When students have knowledge and control of their own cognitive processes, learning is enhanced.

Metacognition plays a particularly important role in promoting the transfer of learning.  Students can more readily apply knowledge acquired in one context to another context if they have more awareness of themselves as learners, if they can monitor their strategies and resources, and if they assess their readiness for tests and other performances.

Metacognitive growth is gradual throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood.  It is not simply something one has or does not have.  Metacognition is not a unitary construct, nor is the application of metacognitive strategy all or nothing.  There are degrees of effectiveness with which strategies can be applied.

The evidence is clear that improvements in metacognition can improve learning, however, the relationship is not unidirectional, but rather reciprocal.  Improvements in metacognition contribute to improvements in learning, which in turn contribute to further improvements in metacognition.

How is metacognition developed and promoted? Prompting students to reflect on their own thinking is in fact inducing metacognition.  One way to foster the development of metacognition is to ask students what they know or what they do while engaging in particular cognitive activities. While there are some limitations to verbal reports due to the fact that there is often a difference between what people say they do and whey they actually do, this approach can be an effective first step.  Academic coaching is a helpful and an effective approach to assisting students in developing their metacognitive skills and stay on track.  At Evoke we help students set and achieve their academic goals and find balance. Our clients are challenged to identify needs and create solutions. They are given support in organizing and completing tasks. Central to the coaching effort is regular contact to set weekly goals, identify road blocks to achieving objectives and creating plans of action.

')}

Executive function could be described as the actions we perform which enable us to override our habitual responses. In current psychology the consensus is that this  executive system is based in the frontal cortex of the brain which governs thought and action to produce coherent behaviour.  These goal directed behaviours are often referred to as executive function, executive attention or cognitive control and include:

These executive skills support the setting and achieving of goals.

Clearly, academic success and successful life management hinge on these abilities.

Unfortunately, problems develop for students when executive weaknesses override the ability to create, organize, make plans or fulfill intentions. Those students wrestling with attentional or learning deficits often have very pronounced executive function weaknesses, which often results in frustration and poor academic performance. A student may be very intelligent, even gifted, and still fail to do well in school because of underdeveloped executive function.

With academic coaching students strengthen and develop essential executive skills.

Evoke students are consistently challenged by their coach to identify needs and create solutions. We support our clients in their organization and task completion and students are held accountable. In regular meetings with clients we set weekly goals, identify road blocks to achievement and create plans of action.

With Evoke Coaching students are equipped with the tools and skills to feel confident, manage tasks large and small, achieve goals and fulfill their individual potential.

Read more about Evoke Academic Coaching HERE

')}